Topping-machine.



W. E. SMITH & H. G. GEIPEL.

Patented Nov. 10, 1914.

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ITE l i STATES PATENT osrion WILLIAM E. SMITH, or MILL'rowN, AND AEEYcQ GEIIPEL, or NEW EnUNswIcK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNGRS TO mLEoUEN MANUFACTURING CORPORATION, 0E NEW EEUNswxoK, NEW JERSEY, A coRroEerIoN on NEW JERSEY.

TOPPING-MAGHINE.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, VVILLIAM E. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milltown, in the county of Middlesex and State of New Jersey, and HARRY C. GEIPEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Brunswick, in the county of Middlesex and State of New Jersey, have invented new and useful Improvements in Topping- Maohines; and wedo hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertainsto make and use the same.

Our invention consists in the novel fea tures hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which show one embodiment of our invention which we have selected for the purpose of illustrating the same, and a slight niodiiication thereof, and our said invention is. fully disclosed in the following description and claims. 1

Our invention relates to topping machines or machines for transferring ribbed tops of stockings and the embodiments of our in vention which we have selected for the purpose of illustration are designed particularly to be used in connection with the type of topping machine shown and described in Letters Patent of the United States :l,t1,035,601, granted to E. KilbournfW n1. E. Smith, andl. W.Kilbourn,under date of the 13th of August, 1912, although we do not limit the use of our invention to this particularmachine. In the use of topping machines of the kind described in tllGfSttlCl Letters Patent, the ribbed tops for 1nens half hose are knit as a continuous fabric on a rib machine provided with cylinder and. dial needles and the topping machine is adapted to feed the tubular ribbed fabric to a predetermined position in which the. stitches of the course to be transferred are brought into alineinent with transfer levers, and the transfer levers are causedto pass through stitches of the transfer course, and to distend thesveb into position to bring all of the stitches of the course to be transferred into alinenient with the quills of the transfer ring; (or needles of a circular knitting maclnne) and apply the same thereto,

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed. June 30, 1914 Serial No. 848,151.

slack course of stitches adjacent to theother end of each section, to facilitate the transfer operation, and in order to enable the topping machine to correctly position the ribbed fabric with respect to th e transfer lever, the fabric is provided between the loose or slack course of stitchesand the pointadjacent thereto where the fabric is to be severed with an extra positioning welt, as shown, for example, in United States Letters Patent to E. ll). Kilbourn #953,069 dated March 29,1910, and United States Letters Patent to W111. E. Smith $51,009,450, dated November 21, 1911, the said eX- tra welt or positioning welt being provided for the express purpose of being engaged by the ends of registering bitsofthe transferring machine, which slide in the grooves between the wales onthe exterior of the ribbed fabric, While said fabric is partially distended and supported by a central 1nandrel, and said positioning welt and the adjacent portions of the fabric between the line of severance and the slack course of stitches or transfer course are unraveled after the ribbed top has been applied tothe needles of the circular knitting machine,

and before knitting the leg of the stockingi Tlietmnsfer or topping machine is provided with a circular series of these registering bits surrounding the mandrel and in the operation of the machine the said bits are moved into engagement with the positioning welt and thereafter move the ribbed fabric lengthwise ofthe inandrel so as to bllllg the adpicent transfer course or slack course into alincinent with the points of the transfer levers and hold the fabric in that position until the transfer levers have penetrated the stitches of the slack course or transfer course. The registering bits are preferably pivotally mounted at their rear ends and are yieldingly held in engagement with the fabric and pressed into the grooves between the wales thereof by an annular elastic connection preferably in theforni of an endless spiral spring surrounding said Patented Nov. 10, 1914.

the section of the ribbed fabric .sufiicient for i bits and engaging grooves or recesses in the forward ends thereof.

In the slack course or course to be transferred, it will be obvious that every other stitch will be at the top of one of the wales of the ribbed fabric and that the alternate stitches are located at the bottom of the grooves between the wales. When, therefore, the registering bits are in operative position, in engagement with the extra welt and have positioned the transfer course, each of the bits will lie upon or over one of the stitches of the transfer course, to wit, one of the dial stitches at the bottom of the groove in which the bit lies. It is important to the accurate operation of the device that the bits shall remain in this position until after the transfer levers have penetrated the stitches which they engage, as to withdraw the bits before the transfer levers have been operated would probably result in some relaxation of the fabric which would interfere with the correct positioning of the stitches with respect to the transfer levers. In the machine described in the Patent #1,035,601 before referred to, the number of transfer levers equals one half the number of stitches in the course to be transferred and said levers are so arranged that they will enter between the adjacent bits and penetrate the alternate stitches or cylinder stitches of the transfer course which are exposed between the bits. The further operation of the transfer levers in spreading the web brought the engaged stitches in registration with every alternate. quill on the transferring and the intermediate quills of the transfer ring were preferably set a little nearer the center of the ring, as described in said patent in order that the intermediate stitches which were held in position by the tension of the fabric should properly engage these quills also.

In some instances it is desirable to use a transfer lever for every stitch including both the cylinder stitches and the dial stitches of the transfer course and this is especially true in the case of coarse knitting wherein the tension of the work is not sufficient to insure the accurate placing of the intermediate stitches where every alternate is engaged by the transfer lever. According to our invention, therefore, we provide for the use of a number of transfer levers corresponding to the total number of stitches of the transfer course and provide each of the registering bits with a recessed portion for the purpose of exposing the dial stitch beneath it when the bits are in operative engagement with the positioning welt and have been moved up to position the transfer course. This construction permits every alternate transfer lever to pass down between the bits and engage the cylinder stitches of the transfer course and the alternate transfer levers to pass into and through the recessed portions of the bits themselves so as to engage the dial stitches beneath the bits, thus enabling the transfer levers to stick or penetrate every stitch in the transfer course, andtopositively place the same in engagement with the appropriate quills of the transfer ring. g

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents so much of a transferring or topping machine as is necessary to an understanding of our invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail perspective view showing a portion of the ribbed fabric greatly en: larged, a portion of the supporting mandrel of the topping machine, and one of our improved registering bits in position with re spect to the extra welt or positioning welt of the fabric, and the slack course thereof, and also showing one of the transfer levers. Fig. 3is a top plan view of one of our improved bits. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the same, showing a transfer lever in operative relation thereto@ Fig. 5 is a top plan view showing a slight modification.

In Fig. 1, which shows so much of a topping machine of the type disclosed in Letters Patent #1,035,601 before referred to, as is necessary for an understanding of our present invention, 1 represents the transfer ring which is detachably supported in the ma chine upon a suitable supporting frame 2, 3 is the supporting mandrel provided with an annular series of supporting fingers 4, and a circular brush portion '5 for supporting the tubular fabric while permitting the engagement of the transfer levers and the severing of the fabric, and 6, 6, represents two of the circular series of transfer levers, which in this instance are equal in number to the total number of stitches in the slack course or transfer course.

10 represents our improved bits, which in this instance are pivotally connected at 11 to the bit supporting frame of the transfer machine and are provided adjacent to their outer ends with recesses 12 to receive the yielding band or the endless spring 13 which presses them into firm engagement with the grooves of the ribbed fabric and each of the bits is provided with a runner portion 14 to engage one of the said grooves, and having its forward end preferably beveled or inclining upwardly and rearwardly as indicated at 15, to facilitate the engagement of the forward end of the bit with the extra welt or positioning welt of the fabric.

20 represents the ribbed fabric provided with the wales 21 and alternate grooves 22, 23 representing the selvage welt of one section of the fabric, 24. representing the slack course of stitches and the dotted line 2525 indicating the line of severance between the two adjacent sections of the fabric.

26 represents the extra weltor positioning welt which is located between the slack course 24 and the line of severance 2525, and is engaged by the forward ends of the bits to move the fabric into such position that the transfer levers will engage the stitches of the transfer course. By reference to F ig. 2, it will be noted that the alternate stitches 245 and 24?" lie at the bottom of the grooves of thefabric and will be be neath the bits, and we therefore provide each bit, as before stated, with a recess 16. In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, this recess is formed in the end of the bit and extends longitudinally thereof, making the end of the bit bifurcated so that one of the transfer levers 6 can pass between the bifurcated end portions, through the recess so provided and enter one of the stitches 24 beneath the bit, as clearly indicated in Figs. 2 and 4:. The further movement of the transfer levers from the positions shown in Figs. 2 and 4 to the position shown in Fig. 1 will cause them to pass out of the recessed portion of the bits and to swing outwardly to distend the fabric and bring the stitches carried thereby into proper position with respect to the quills of the transfer ring. It will also be under stood that the alternate transfer levers 6 will pass between adjacent bits and engage the alternate stitches 24, at the same time that the othertransfer levers engage the other stitches 24:, thus sticking simultaneously every stitch in the transfer course and holding the same until they are transferred to the quills of the transfer ring 1.

In Fig. 5 we have shown a slight modification of our invention in which the bit 10 is provided at its outer end with a re cessed portion 16 at one side thereof insteadof having the recess in the end between the bifurcated portions. This construction is effective and will permit the proper engagement of the alternate transfer levers with the stitches beneath the bits, as previously described with reference to the form of bit shown in Figs. 1 to f inclusive.

knitted web, the combination with a sup porting mandrel, and a series of transfer levers, of a plurality of registering bits, each of said bits being provided with bifurcated end portions forming a recess betweensaid bifurcated portions for the passage of one of the transfer levers theretln'ough to engage a stitch of the transfer course beneath said bit.

3. In a machine for running on seamless knitted web, the combination with a supporting mandrel, and a series of transfer ortion to permit the passage of a levers, equal innumber to the total number a of stitches in the transfer course, of a series of registering bits equal in number to one half the number of stitches in the transfer course, for engaging the grooves between adjacent wales of the knitted fabric,

each of said bits being provided adjacent to 1 its forward end with a recess to accommodate one of the transfer levers, whereby the alternate transfer levers will engage stitches of the transfer course between adjacent bits, and the remaining transfer lovers will pass through the recessed portion of saidbits and engage the stitches of the transfer course beneath said bits.

In testimony whereof, we affix our signatures, in the presence of two witnesses.

WVILLIAM E. SMITH. HARRY O. GEIPEL. Witnesses:

Trrnononn Goose, I-IAnoLn I-IOLMAN.

Copies of this patentmay be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of iatents,

Washington, D. G. 

